Cate School

Carpinteria · Santa Barbara County · Private

Private Santa Barbara County ~73 seniors

Data Year

Compare with peers

Most similar nearby schools

Ojai Valley School → Oak Grove School → Thacher School the → Laguna Blanca School → Villanova Preparatory School → Compare all similar →

Enrollment trend & projection

Total enrollment (9–12)

297 (2020) → 306 (2025)

+3.0%

Grade 12 (graduating class)

75 (2020) → 73 (2025)

-2.7%

If this trend holds (+0.6%/yr, Total enrollment)

At tuition of $ / student:

Horizon	Projected Total enrollment	Change	Tuition impact / yr
1 yr (2026)	~308	+2	$0
3 yr (2028)	~312	+6	$0
5 yr (2030)	~315	+9	$0

Straight-line extrapolation of the recent annual rate — a what-if, not a forecast of intent. Edit the figure to match your school.

Financial profile — IRS Form 990, FY2023

From 13 years of Form 990 filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (free public IRS data). The school's tax filings show financial scale, fundraising health, and endowment trajectory — signals that drive board-level conversations about tuition pricing, financial-aid capacity, and capital projects.

Total revenue

$34.6M

FY2023

Net assets (endowment + property)

$193.0M

+67.3% since FY2011

Tuition revenue (program)

$21.1M

≈ $68967/student avg

Gifts & grants

$11.2M

fundraising

Total revenue by year ($M)

Net assets by year ($M)

Source: IRS Form 990 via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (EIN 951644630). View latest 990 PDF → Tuition-per-student is total program-service revenue divided by latest enrollment — a rough average that includes auxiliary revenue (athletics, food service, etc.); the actual published tuition can differ. Form 990 is filed annually under penalty of perjury, so the financial scale figures are authoritative.

University of California outcomes · Class of 2025

UC Reach ⓘ

51%

37 admits / 73 seniors
+3.9 pp above peer median (46.8%) · Ranked #3 of 8 similar schools

5-year trend

2021 · 39.2% 2025 · 50.7%

Where this sits on the California curve

CA median
18.5%

Peer median
46.8%

Top 10%
53.3%

This school
50.7%

0%50%100%

CA median 18.5% Top 10% ≥ 53.3% This school 50.7%

Higher than 89% of California high schools (1105 ranked, ≥50 seniors)

📊 What this number means

Cate School's UC Reach of 50.7% is in the top quartile statewide (median 18.5%; top 25% bar 32.0%) — but it's still below the top-10% bar of 53.3%.

For context, the elite tier (top 1%) clears 102.7% — a gap of 52 pp from where this school sits.

Overall, Cate School's UC Reach is higher than 89% of California high schools (1105 ranked).

UC Application Reach ⓘ

253.4%

185 applications

Strong UC pursuit. The typical senior is applying to about 3 top-6 UC campuses — a signal of a college-driven student body.

In context: CA median 78.3% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 245.8% · higher than 91% of CA HS.

UC Admit Rate ⓘ

20.0%

37 / 185 applications

In context: CA median 26.0% · Top 10% statewide ≥ 40.5% · higher than 16% of CA HS.

UC Yield Rate ⓘ

13.5%

5 enrolled of 37 admitted

Yield vs. Enrollment Reach: Yield answers "of UC admits, what % chose UC?" — denominator is just the admits. A small admitted cohort can post a low yield even when the school sends a healthy share of its class to UC.

UC Enrollment Reach ⓘ

6.8%

5 enrollees / 73 seniors

Enrollment Reach vs. Yield: Reach answers "of the whole senior class, what % ended up at UC?" — denominator is everyone. High Yield with low Enrollment Reach is common at elite privates: most admits matriculate, but the school sends most of its class to non-UC selective colleges.

Selective UC Reach (UCSD, UCSB, UCI, UCD) ⓘ

41.1

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 15.7 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 42.4 · higher than 89% of CA HS.

Elite UC Reach (UCB + UCLA) ⓘ

17.8

per 100 seniors · campus-level total

In context: CA median 3.5 · Top 10% statewide ≥ 11.1 · higher than 97% of CA HS.

Senior Class Size ⓘ

Private School Affidavit

Total School Enrollment ⓘ

306

All grades · Private School Affidavit

Private-school figures come from the California Private School Affidavit. Per CDE, inclusion in private-school data is not an evaluation, approval, or endorsement of a school.

Cate School — Enrollment & Outcomes Snapshot

Private · secular · Carpinteria · vs. 10 most similar nearby schools

▸On UC Reach, Cate School sits in the middle of its similar-school group (ranked #3 of 8): 51% vs. a peer median of 47%.
▸Its UC Reach has slipped 19 points since 2020 — worth watching.
▸Senior-class enrollment is down 3% (75→73 from 2020 to 2025), outpacing the peer-group median of -9%.
▸Enrollment has been growing (+0.6%/yr); projects to ~312 by 2028.

Enrollment projection

306 students (2025)

→

~312 projected (2028)

at +0.6%/yr

Your school vs. its 10 most similar nearby schools

School	Type	Size	UC Reach	Enroll. trend
Cate School	Private · secular	306	50.7%	-3%
Peer-group median			46.8%	-9%
Ojai Valley School	Private · secular	307	38.1%	-16%
Oak Grove School	Private · secular	212	—	+260%
Thacher School the	Private · secular	257	46.8%	+2%
Laguna Blanca School	Private · secular	414	63.0%	-4%
Villanova Preparatory School	Private · Catholic	266	49.0%	-14%
Bishop Garcia Diego High Sch	Private · Catholic	278	—	+13%
Providence	Private · Other religious	290	—	-62%
Saint Bonaventure High School	Private · Catholic	412	36.4%	-31%
Dunn School	Private · secular	219	22.6%	-26%
Providence High School	Private · Catholic	497	56.7%	+25%

UC Reach = top-6 UC admits ÷ senior class (can exceed 100% when students are admitted to multiple campuses). Enrollment trend = first-to-latest grade-12 change on file. Similar schools matched on proximity, size, type, and religious orientation. Methodology →

Avg. Applicant GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.07

Avg. Admitted GPA · top-6 UCs ⓘ

4.20

GPA figures reflect 2024 — UC has not yet released applicant/admit GPA for 2025.

Admit rate vs. CA peer average, by campus ⓘ

How does this school's admit rate at each UC compare to other CA schools whose applicant pool averages the same GPA? Based on 2024 (latest GPA available).

Campus	Applicant GPA (avg)	Actual admit rate	CA peer avg	Δ	Verdict
UC Berkeley	4.11	22.2%	17.1%	+5.1pp	Over
UCLA	4.12	10.5%	9.6%	+1.0pp	On target
UC San Diego	4.07	21.9%	18.3%	+3.6pp	On target
UC Santa Barbara	3.99	25.9%	31.2%	-5.3pp	Under
UC Davis	4.03	52.4%	31.7%	+20.7pp	Over

"Applicant GPA" is the average GPA of this school's UC applicant pool — not an individual student GPA. "CA peer avg" is the application-weighted statewide admit rate at this school-pool GPA, fit separately per campus. At any given pool GPA, real admit rates span widely (UCSD ranges 8% → 65% across CA schools) because UCs use comprehensive review — context-of-opportunity, geography, demographics, and applicant essays all weigh in beyond GPA. A large negative residual flags this school is admitted at a meaningfully lower rate than other CA schools at the same pool GPA — not that students here were "rejected at expected rate X." "Over" / "Under" use a ±5-point band. Campuses with fewer than 5 applicants are omitted.

Where Cate School sits vs. all California schools ⓘ

Overall, this school admits its UC applicants in line with what their GPAs predict (24.0% actual vs. 20.0% expected), based on 2024 data.

UC Outcomes Trend — 2018–2025

UC Admit Rate %

UC Reach % (where available)

UC Admits (count, right axis)

Class size from CDE grade 12 enrollment. Campus-level data — applicant/admit totals may count a student at multiple campuses more than once.

Campus Breakdown — 2025

Campus	Applicants	Admits	Enrollees	Admit Rate	UC Reach	Yield	Avg GPA (App) '24	Avg GPA (Adm) '24
UC Berkeley → Elite	42	9	5	21.4%	12.3%	55.6%	4.11	4.23
UCLA → Elite	43	4	—	9.3%	5.5%	—	4.12	—
UC San Diego → Selective	35	7	—	20.0%	9.6%	—	4.07	4.27
UC Santa Barbara → Selective	34	6	—	17.6%	8.2%	—	3.99	4.14
UC Irvine → Selective	17	4	—	23.5%	5.5%	—	4.06	—
UC Davis →	14	7	—	50.0%	9.6%	—	4.03	4.16

⚠ Campus-level totals may count one student admitted to multiple UC campuses more than once. Admit Volume metrics are not the same as UC Reach, which requires unique-student counts. See methodology →

What This Means

A large share of the senior class applies to UC, indicating strong college-going culture and UC pipeline development.

A large share of the class applies to UC, so the admit rate runs lower than the application volume alone might suggest — expected when many students apply broadly, including to reach campuses. UC Reach (which credits every admit relative to the class) is the truer read of how the class fares: a strong Reach alongside a moderate admit rate is healthy, not a contradiction.

UC Reach is very strong — more than 51% of seniors are earning UC admission. This places the school among California's highest-performing high schools on this metric.

Strong UC Reach paired with low yield: students are earning UC admission at high rates and then enrolling elsewhere. The pattern is characteristic of competitive college-preparatory schools where many students choose more selective private colleges or out-of-state flagships over UC — UC functions as a strong backup option rather than a first choice.

The school generates broad UC access, but fewer students are reaching the most selective UC campuses (UCLA, Berkeley, UCSD, UCSB, UCI). Targeted academic enrichment and campus-fit advising may help.

Berkeley and UCLA admit volume is strong — a clear high-end signal for this school's academic preparation.

Note: admit counts used here are campus-level totals. A student admitted to both UCLA and UCSD is counted twice. When UCOP unique-student data becomes available it will be loaded automatically and the labels will update.

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